Perry, Utah

Good morning, my friends. We have just one more day of driving ahead of us, and then we'll start having some off-road fun. For now, I have just another day of driving to tell you about. In yesterday's post, I promised you a look at the dunes at Bruneau Dunes State Park. Just before leaving, we climbed up this short rise...

To reveal this sand dune on the other side. You can also see the observatory out there on the right. The sand dune you see there is the tallest single-structured sand dune in North America with a peak rising 470 feet above the surrounding desert floor. 

We could hear the call of a Western Meadowlark while we were there, although we couldn't see the bird. They look like this, and they have a beautiful song.

(Image credit: "Western Meadowlark" by USFWS Mountain Prairie is licensed under CC BY 2.0.)

As I've said before, the Western Meadowlark is the state bird of Oregon, although I've never actually seen one within the boundaries of our home state.

Having seen the dunes, we loaded up and drove off on our merry way. We're all in our places.

Leaving Bruneau Dunes, we noticed the range of mountains surrounding us. They all had flat tops like these.

We crossed over the Snake River for the third time this trip. We crossed over again before leaving Idaho miles down the road.

We drove through the tiny town of Jerome, Idaho, in search of fuel. These old structures in small towns make the places look as if time stood still here.

There isn't much to see on this stretch of I-84 through southeastern Idaho, but we did get a look at a couple of crop dusters. You can't see the plane in this image...just the spray from behind...but let me tell you, this guy was flying very close to the ground.

Eventually, we crossed the state line into Utah.

There, we started seeing more ramshackle structures and barns.

This next one was way far off the road. Sorry for the blur.

We were about a half-hour away from our final destination when we passed the turn off to the city of Tremonton.

This is what The Google tells us about Tremonton:

Although the first settlers came to the Tremonton area in 1888, it remained largely uninhabited until just before 1900, when land agents started promoting the Bear River Valley as a place for Midwestern farmers to relocate. Small groups from Nebraska and Illinois began to arrive in 1898. These settlers were a diverse blend of Protestant faiths, in contrast to their mostly Mormon neighbors. Then an Apostolic Christian Church group came in 1901–1904. The main body was from Tremont, Illinois, joined by a few families from Ohio and Kansas. Mostly of German descent, this group was referred to as the "German colony".

When a townsite was laid out in 1903, the new town was named "Tremont" at the request of the German colony. Within four years, the post office had it renamed "Tremonton" due to confusion with the central Utah town of Fremont. Around 1907 the congregation was caught up in a larger schism of the Apostolic Church. Some moved back to the Midwest, and the German colony came to an end. But the church left a permanent mark in the name of Tremonton.

Just past the turn-off to the city, I noticed this monument. We passed by too quickly for me to get a picture, but I was able to get some information about it from The Google.

Rusten Thornley stands beside a monument placed in July 2020 at the site of a 2005 van accident on I-84 that claimed the lives of eight Utah State University students and their instructor. Thornley raised the funds and organized the effort to build and install the memorial for his Eagle Scout project.

You can read more about the effort and about the folks who lost their lives right here. 

Moving on, we were nearing our final destination when we passed by the town of Brigham City. We could see the Mormon temple from the road. The Google tells me this is the 14th Mormon temple dedicated in the state of Utah.

Traveling the last stretch of road toward the RV park, we had a nice view of the Wasatch Mountains. 

I wondered about the "I" on the left side of the image there. As it turns out the “I” stands for Intermountain Indian School, which at one time was the largest boarding school for Native Americans in the United States. Following World War II, President Truman declared the Navajo Reservation in a state of emergency due to population growth on the reservation and not enough land to support them. You can read more about the school, its history, and where it stands now right here.

We're staying at a KOA just south of Brigham City. Looking up information about Brigham City, I was delighted to learn this:

Brigham City Peach Days is a beloved annual celebration held in Brigham City, Utah. This delightful event has been a cherished tradition for over a century and is eagerly anticipated by locals and visitors alike. The festival takes place the weekend after Labor Day and serves as a vibrant tribute to the region's agricultural heritage, particularly its delicious peaches.

The weekend after Labor Day??? That's this weekend! We won't be here for Peach Days, but that doesn't mean we can't get some fresh peaches. And just let me tell you, there was a fresh fruit stand advertising peaches about every ten feet as we drove the last mile or so to our final destination. We had some medicine to pick up in Ogden, and so we unhitched our "toad" and ventured out, stopping first at this place.

As I got out of the Jeep, I noticed this...apropos of nothing...although I guess we're getting close to Dinosaur National Monument here. Besides, the red hot pepper reminded me of my just-finished quilt.

We arrived while they were still unloading freshly-picked peaches from a local grower. 

I only wanted a few for my snacking and peach cobbler pleasure. We'll need to pick up some oatmeal, but I'll turn two of these into Individual Peach Cobblers within the next few days. Aren't they pretty?

From there, we headed down to Ogden to pick up our medicine. We both had a medication we were not able to refill before we left home (too soon). No worries. Walgreens takes care of us no matter where we roam. Along the way, we could see the Great Salt Lake to the west.

And that was our day. So we have just one more day of driving ahead of us, and then we'll stay put for five nights. I'm looking forward to getting back to my slow-stitching. (There isn't time for that when we're heading out morning after morning.) We're also looking forward to doing some off-road driving in the Moab area. The fun part of the trip is just about to commence.